Promotional device



Oct. 4, 1960 J. L. BALDWIN ETA].

PROMOTIONAL DEVICE Filed June 19, 1959 FIG. 3

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8 W mym United States Patent PROMOTIONAL DEVICE Joseph L. Baldwin, Huntington Valley, and 'Jack A. Bentley, Feasterville, Pa., assignors to Blaisdell Pencil Company, Bethayres, Pa., a corporation "of- Pennsylvania Filed June 19, 1959, Ser. No. 821,401

'1 Claim. (Cl. 40-126) Our present invention relates to a promotional device and more especially to one which in every way simulates a high quality lead pencil in external appearance.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a lead pencil-like structure which may comprise the conventional enameled wood lead pencil casing, the axial bore of which is, however, devoid of a pencil lead shaft, but instead houses a small tissue scroll of diameter to be accommodated in the bore, which scroll has imprinted thereon information of interest to the donee of the device.

According to another feature, the forward or writing end of the lead pencil casing may be plugged with a short length of pencil writing lead which will come flush with the end of the pencil casing, while the other or rear end of the casing is preferably closed in manner also to simulate the rear end of a conventional lead pencil; such closure being the conventional eraser ferrule of a lead pencil or alternatively a short length of writing lead may be plugged into the rear end of the casing bore to extend flush with the casing end to simulate a non-eraser lead pencil.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several 7 features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment of the device;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view with parts broken away, taken on line 2.--2 of Fig. 1, the scroll being left intact;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an lllustrative embodiment of the contained scroll element thereof, unrolled to flat position; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2 showing the lead plug flush with the rear end of the lead pencil casing to simulate a lead pencil of the non-eraser type,

' illustratively shown with a sharpened lead end plug,

Referring now to the drawings, the promotional device has the external appearance of a conventional lead pencil, comprising a wood casing marked as usual with the trademark of the pencil manufacturer and if desired also that of the distributor thereof. The front end of the pencil has what appears to be the writing lead shaft 11 flush therewith and on the rear end it may have the eraser ferrule 13 with the eraser 14 therein.

In every respect the promotional device has the external appearance of a conventional lead pencil of high qualitywith a trademark to be promoted.

The pencil casing is usually made from two wooden halves, each with a long central groove 16; the two pencil halves are glued together at their fiat superposed edges 17 defining the axial bore 18 for the pencil lead.

In this case, however, no lead shaft is housed in the in the forward or what simulates the writing end of the bore of the pencil casing.

This scroll may be made from a rectangular tissue sheet desirably about 3 inches long and about or "Vs inch wide. The tissue may be of thickness in the order of .0005 inch and is fairly tightly wound, preferably on the bias, to form a scroll about 2 /2 inches :in length, which has an external diameter sufficiently small for accommodation within the axial bore 18 of the lead pencil casing into which it is pushed for assembly purposes, until the outer end of the scroll comes within A inch or so, of the writing end of the casing. In this writing end there is accommodated a plug 25 desirably about inch long, which may be of writing lead and may be cemented in place, thereby to confine the scroll in the casing.

The promotional device is donated to the salesmen of the lead pencil manufacturer or distributors of the pencils or of other merchandise and has information printed lead bore, but instead, there is confined therein a tissue scroll 20, preferably fairly tightly Wound and confined thereon of interest to the donee, illustratively:

CONGRATULATIONS You Have Won a FABULOUS TRIP TO NEW YORK FOR TWO via A. B. C. AIR LINES Call XYZ, Inc. in St. Louis for details MAin 68123 or for instance the legend shown on Fig. 3.

The donee of the promotional device sharpens the casing with a pencil sharpener or a pen-knife as if it were a lead pencil, thereby releasing the lead plug 25 and attaining access to the scroll 20 which expands for frictional grip of the wall of bore 18. The scroll may be pulled out with the aid of a pin or pen-knife and the information read on the scroll after it has been smoothed to flat position, as illustratively shown :in Fig. 3.

The embodiment of Fig. 4 shows an eraserless pencil casing, in which the rear end of the bore 18' is plugged with a short length 27 of pencil lead; the scroll is similar to that of Fig. 2 and similarly introduced, and the writing end has a short leadplug 25' illustratively protruding with a writing point 25a.

The device serves at the same time to advertise the lead pencil, its manufacturer and distributor and to promote the sales of any commodity with which the promotional device is donated to the salesman, distributor or the like.

The term tissue as defining the material of the scroll is not limited to any particular material, as the tissue may be of thin paper, plastic, foil or the like, though in present practice it is of paper.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently Widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claim, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown'in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

An advertising device having the appearance and dimensions of a conventional lead pencil of fine quality, comprising a wooden lead pencil casing having an axial bore therethrough of a diameter to accommodate the usual writing lead shaft, devoid of a writing lead shaft therein, but having enclosed therein a hidden tissue scroll of an outer diameter fitting in said bore, said scroll havscroll from the casing and obtaining the secreted information.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,364,025 Billings Dec. 28, 1920 2,144,877 Gaude Jan. 24, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 334,195 France I Oct. 13, 1903 1,137,058 France Jan. 7, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES Johnson Smith & Co., Catalog for 1948; page 20. (Copy in Div. 62.) r 

